Conditioning roll structure

ABSTRACT

A conditioning roll is disclosed wherein the roll has a hollow core of a predetermined length with a plurality of axially aligned, outwardly projecting guide rails detachably connected thereto around the outer circumference of the core. Each guide rail is associated with an elastomeric lobe having a predetermined shape and being mounted on the guide rail for axial slidable movement relative thereto. The guide rails are preferably of a T-shaped cross-sectional configuration to maintain the position of the lobe radially relative to the core.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

This invention relates generally to hay harvesting machines and moreparticularly, to a conditioning roll structure utilizing T-shaped guiderails to mount transversely movable lobes.

Hay harvesting machines commonly referred to as mower-conditioners orwindrowers, utilize a crop harvesting header to sever the hay crop fromthe ground and convey it rearwardly to a conditioning mechanism operableto crush or crimp the severed crop material at spaced apart intervalsalong the stem of the crop to facilitate the drainage of liquids fromthe crop material plant. Conditioning mechanisms of the type utilizing apair of counterrotating, intermeshing conditioning rolls are usuallyprovided with transversely extending lugs or flutes to effectconditioning of the severed crop material in a manner described ingreater detail in U.S. Pat. No. 3,488,929 issued to J. K. Hale.

Although the individual crop material plant, which generally has a waxystem, has been broken in several places by the operation of theintermeshing flutes on the conditioning rolls, the liquids within theplant still require significant time to escape from the plant to permitsatifactory conditions under which the dried crop material can be baledand then removed from the field. A more rapid drying of liquids from theconditioned crop material could be obtained if the waxy stem of the cropmaterial plant were split along the length thereof, providing a moreaccessible means for the liquid to escape from the plant.

Accordingly, it would be desireable to provide a conditioning mechanismthat could provide a more aggressive and extensive conditioning of theharvested crop material to decrease the length of time required to lowerthe moisture content of the conditioned crop material so that the cropcan be collected and removed from the field without the use of chemicaltreatment to accelerate the drying process. Furthermore, it would bedesirable to provide a conditioning roll structure that will maintainintegrity of the conditioning roll components, yet be easilymanufactured.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

It is an object of this invention to overcome the aforementioneddisadvantages of the prior art by providing a conditioning roll having ahollow core with outwardly protruding guide rails for individuallymounting lobes for transverse reciprocation relative to the core.

It is another object of this invention to provide guide rails forslidably mounting lobes for transverse movement relative to the core ofa conditioning rolls which is operable to restrict the movement of thelobes radially away from the core.

It is an advantage of this invention that a lobe conditioning rollutilizing transversely reciprocating lobes will have a longer operablelife.

It is a feature of this invention that the guide rails have a T-shapedcross-sectional configuration.

It is another feature of this invention that the guide rails can beprovided with a bushing material to facilitate the sliding movement ofthe lobe relative to the guide rail.

It is still another object of this invention to detachably connect theguide rails to the core of the conditioning roll.

It is still another feature of this invention that the fastenersdetachably affixing the guide rails to the conditioning roll core arerecessed within the cross-section of the guide rail.

It is still another advantage of this invention that the slidingresistance between the transversely reciprocal lobe and the associatedguide rail is minimized.

It is yet another object of this invention that the lobes are providedwith a transversely extending slot therethrough of a configuration toregister with the associated guide rail.

It is yet another feature of this invention that the transverse slot canbe selectively positioned in the central portion of the lobe as well asin the opposing edge portions.

It is still another advantage of this invention that the positioning ofthe transverse slot through the opposing edge portions of the lobeenables one guide rail to be operably associated with adjacentindependently movable lobes.

It is a further object of this invention to provide a conditioning rollstructure for slidably mounting transversely movable lobes which isdurable in construction, inexpensive of manufacture, carefree ofmaintenance, facile in assemblage, and simple and effective in use.

These and other objects, features, and advantages are accomplishedaccording to the instant invention by providing a conditioning rollstructure wherein the roll has a hollow core of a predetermined lengthwith a plurality of axially aligned, outwardly projecting guide railsdetachably connected thereto around the outer circumference of the core.Each guide rail is associated with an elastomeric lobe having apredetermined shape and being mounted on the guide rail for axialslidable movement relative thereto. The guide rails are preferably of aT-shaped cross-sectional configuration to maintain the position of thelobe radially relative to the core.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The advantages of this invention will become apparent upon considerationof the following disclosure of the invention, especially when taken inconjunction with the accompanying drawings wherein:

FIG. 1 is a side elevational view of a hay harvesting machineincorporating the principles of the instant invention;

FIG. 2 is a top plan view of the hay harvesting machine seen in FIG. 1with the center portion thereof broken away for purposes of clarity;

FIG. 3 is a partial cross-sectional view taken along lines 3--3 of FIG.2 to depict the connection of the lobe reciprocating apparatus to thelobed conditioning rolls;

FIG. 4 is an enlarged partial cross-sectional view of the upperconditioning roll taken along lines 4--4 of FIG. 3 to show the detailsof the mounting of one of the slidable lobes on the core of the upperconditioning roll; and

FIG. 5 is a view similar to that of FIG. 4 yet showing an alternativeembodiment of the mounting of the reciprocal lobe on the conditioningroll core.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT

Referring now to the drawings and, particularly, to FIGS. 1 and 2, a hayharvesting machine, commonly referred to as a pull-typemower-conditioner, incorporating the principles of the instantinvention, can best be seen. Any left and right references are used as amatter of convenience and are determined by standing at the rear of themachine, facing the forward end, the direction of travel.

The mower-conditioner 10 is provided with a frame 12 adapted for mobilemovement over the ground G by wheels 13 rotatably mounted thereon. Theframe 12 is provided with a pivotal draw bar 14 which extends forwardlytherefrom for connection to a prime mover (not shown), such as atractor, in a conventional manner. The frame 12 supports a header 15 byflotation linkage 16 for generally vertical movement relative to theground G as is conventionally known. The header 15 includes aconventional cutter bar 17 operable to sever standing crop material fromthe ground G and a reel 18 rotatably operable in a conventional mannerto convey the severed crop material rearwardly to the conditioningmechanism 20. The drive mechanism 19 is supported from the draw bar 14and the frame 12 to transfer rotational power from the prime mover in aconventional manner to the operable components of the mower-conditioner10.

The conditioning mechanism 20 is shown mounted in the frame 12rearwardly of the header 15 to receive severed crop material conveyedrearwardly therefrom by the reel 18. The conditioning mechanism 20 isprovided with a rotatable upper roll 22 and a counterrotating lower roll23 positioned for intermeshing engagement therewith to define a throat24 into which the severed crop material is fed so as to pass between thecounterrotating conditioning rolls 22, 23. Each conditioning roll 22, 23has a lobed construction, which will be described in greater detailbelow, providing an intermeshing configuration to crush the cropmaterial passing longitudinally therebetween in a conventional manner.

Referring now to FIGS. 3 and 4, the details of the reciprocal lobes 25can best be seen. Each lobe 25 is constructed of an elastomeric materialsuch as urethane with a hardness of 70 durometer "A". The urethane isbonded to a support tube 27 extending preferably the entire length ofthe lobe 25. The lobe 25 is slidably mounted on a guide rail 30 affixedto the core 32 of the conditioning roll 22, 23. The guide rail 30preferably extends substantially the entire length of the core 32 whichis preferably slightly shorter than the lobes 25 so that the core 32 isnot exposed during the transversely reciprocating movements of the lobes25 as will be described in greater detail below. The guide rails 30 arepreferaably detachably connected to the core 32 by fasteners 34 tofascilitate repair and/or maintenance of the guide rails 30.

The lobes 25 are shown as having a curved configuration to provide amore extensive conditioning of the crop material; however, alternativeconfigurations could also be provided. Such alternative configurationscould have angled bends to provide crimping of the crop material atregular intervals as the crop material is fed longitudinally through theconditioning mechanism 20. However, it is necessary according to theprinciples of the instant invention that the lobes 25 extend linearlyparallel to the axis of the conditioning roll 22, 23 because of thetransverse reciprocal movement induced to the lobes described in greaterdetail below.

The individual lobes 25 are connected to an oscillating mechanism 35 toeffect reciprocation in a transverse direction along the core 32. Theoscillating mechanism 35 could take many forms; however, the preferredembodiment is a lobe reciprocating apparatus 40 described in greaterdetail below. Although a conditioning action could be attained byreciprocating the lobes 25 on one of the conditioning rolls 22, 23, anequal amount of relative transverse movement can be acquired with lessindividual lobe 25 movement if both the upper roll 22 and the lower roll23 have their respective lobes 25 connected to an oscillating mechanism35 to effect the corresponding transverse reciprocal movement.

The lobe reciprocating apparatus 40 has a hub 41 whose axis is tiltedwith respect to the line of the core 32. The hub 41 is rotatablysupported by bearings 42 mounted in a housing 43 affixed to the frame12. As with conventional conditioning mechanisms, the upper roll 22 ismounted on swing arms 39 to permit generally vertical movement of theupper roll 22 relative to the lower conditioning roll 23. As a result,the housing 43 for the lobe reciprocating apparatus 40 corresponding tothe upper roll 22 is affixed to the swing arm 39, while the housing 43for the lower roll is supported from the frame 12. The lobereciprocating apparatus 40 also includes a spider 45 having a plate 46affixed perpendicularly to the hub 41 and rotatable therewith. Thespider 45 is provided with a central cup 47 and a plurality of smallercups 48 uniformily positioned around the periphery of the plate 46. Thenumber of the smaller cups 48 equals the number of the lobes 25 mountedon the corresponding conditioning roll 22, 23.

The lobe reciprocating apparatus 40 is connected directly to the core 32of the corresponding roll 22, 23 by a shaft 52 affixed to the core 32 tobe rotatable therewith and by the connecting rods 55. The shaft 52 isreceived within the central cup 47 by a spherical bearing 53, such as aball joint, to accommodate the misalignment between the plane of theplate 46 and the shaft 52. Due to the connection between the connectingrods 55, the plate 46 rotates with the corresponding conditioning roll22, 23. The angle of the plate 46 relative to being perpendicular to theaxis of the shaft 52 defines the throw, or amount of transversemovement, induced to the lobes 25 corresponding thereto. The shaft 52supports the end of the conditioner roll 22, 23 for rotative movementfrom the lobe reciprocating apparatus so that the respectiveconditioning rolls rotate about an axis of rotation corresponding to theshaft 52.

Interconnecting each of the smaller cups 48 with the corresponding lobe25 is a connecting rod 55 detachably connected to the correspondingsupport tube 27, such as by being threadably received thereby. A nut 56affixed to each respective support tube 27 could provide the means forthreadably connecting the connecting rod 55. Each connecting rod 55 isthen supported within the smaller cup 48 corresponding thereto by auniversal connector, such as a balljoint 58, to accommodate themisalignment between the connecting rod 55 and the plate 46. Theorientation of the plate 46 is such that the lobe 25 is movingconstantly while in the throat area 24. The change in transversedirection of movement of the lobe 25 should occur prior to the lobe 25engaging crop material in the throat 24, which can be accomplished byproper orientation of the plate 46.

In operation, the conditioning rolls 22, 23 are rotated through aconventional connection to the drive mechanism 19 and, in turn,rotatably drives the tilted plate 46 through the shaft 52. The plate 46,which is rotatably supported by the hub 41, cyclically rotates thesmaller cups 48 from a position closer to the core 32 to a positionfurther away from the core 32. Since the core 32 is rotatably supportedat a fixed position relative to the frame 12 and since the lengths ofthe connecting rods 55 remains constant, the result is that theindividual lobes 25 are moved transversely on the corresponding guidemember 30 along the length of the core 32. Accordingly, as long as theconditioning roll 22, 23 is being rotatably driven, the lobes 25 thereofare being transversely moved. The lobe reciprocating apparatus 40 forthe rolls 22, 23 are arranged such that the lobes 25 of the opposingrolls 22, 23 within the throat 24 in engagement with the crop materialare moving in opposite directions.

The resulting conditioning action of the conditioning rolls 22, 23 istwo-fold. The interaction between the intermeshed lobes 25 on theopposing rolls 22, 23 provides a conditioning action to the cropmaterial being harvested along a longitudinal direction as the crop isfed between the counterrotating rolls 22, 23. The transverse movement ofthe lobes 25 within the throat 24 imparts a scuffing action to the cropmaterial in engagement with the rolls along a transverse direction tofurther condition the crop material. It can be seen that this particulararrangement provides continuous movement of the lobes 25 while inengagement with the crop within the throat 24 which in turn provides acontinuous conditioning action to the crop material, resulting in a moreextensive, aggressive conditioning thereof.

Referring now to FIGS. 4 and 5, alternative mounting arrangements forthe lobes 25 can best be seen. The guide rail 30 is in the form of a "T"to stabilize the flexing thereof when the lobe 25 passes through thethroat 24 in intermeshing engagement with the opposing roll with cropmaterial therebetween. In the embodiment shown in FIG. 4, the lobe 25 isconstructed with a T-shaped slot through the middle thereof tocorrespond to the T-shaped guide rail 30. The joint 57 between adjacentlobes 25 on the roll 22, 23 is located at the thinnest part of the lobes25 to minimize the urethane-to-urethane contact. A slight clearancebetween adjacent lobes at the joint 57 is desireable to further minimizethis contact which during operation builds up significant amounts ofheat through friction. An optional bushing material 59 can be mounted onthe guide rail 30 or bonded to the T-shaped slot of the lobe 25 tofurther facilitate the sliding movement of the lobe 25 along the guiderail 30. Furthermore, the joint 57 could be provided with an optionalbushing material bonded to one of the adjacent lobes 25 to facilitaterelative movement therebetween.

In the alternative mounting embodiment shown in FIG. 5, the T-shapedguide rail 30 is located at the joint between adjacent lobes 25, with ahalf T-shaped slot being formed in the opposing sides of the lobe 25 toaccomodate the guide rail 30. This particular mounting configurationfurther minimizes any urethane-to-urethane contact, but subjects theguide rail 30 to contact with juices from the conditioned crop materialthrough the slight clearance between the adjacent lobes 25 immediatelyabove the guide rails 30. As shown in FIG. 4 and described above, theguide rails 30 could be provided with a bushing material if desired.

It will be understood that changes in the details, materials, steps andarrangements of parts which have been described and illustrated toexplain the nature of the invention will occur to and may be made bythose skilled in the art upon a reading of this disclosure within theprinciples and scope of the invention. The foregoing descriptionillustrates the preferred embodiment of the invention; however, conceptsas based upon the description may be employed in other embodimentswithout departing from the scope of the invention. Accordingly, thefollowing claims are intended to protect the invention broadly as wellas in the specific form shown.

Having thus described the invention, what is claimed is:
 1. In aconditioning mechanism for use in a harvesting machine to conditionharvested crop material fed thereto, said conditioning mechanism havinga pair of transverse counterrotating rolls forming a throat for thepassage of harvested crop material between said conditioning rolls, eachsaid conditioning roll having a core and plurality of transverselyextending lobes circumferentially positioned around said core, theimprovement comprisingeach said core is provided with a plurality ofaxially aligned guide rails circumferentially affixed to said core; andsaid lobes being slidably mounted on said guide rails for transversereciprocal movement relative to said guide rails, said guide rails beingoperable to retain said lobes radially relative to said core whilepermitting relative transverse sliding movement.
 2. The conditioningmechanism of claim 1 wherein said guide rail has a T-shapedcross-sectional configuration.
 3. The conditioning mechanism of claim 2wherein each said lobe is provided with a transversely extendingT-shaped slot to permit said lobe to register with said guide rail. 4.The conditioning mechanism of claim 3 wherein said guide rail isdetachably connected to said core.
 5. The conditioning mechanism ofclaim 4 wherein said guide rail is provided with a bushing material onthe surface thereof to facilitate the sliding movement of said loberelative thereto.
 6. The conditioning mechanism of claim 5 wherein eachsaid lobe has a thick central portion and thin edge portions on oppositesides of said central portion adjacent adjoining lobes, said transverseslot extending through said central portion of said lobe.
 7. Theconditioning mechanism of claim 6 wherein the number of lobes equals thenumber of guide rails.
 8. The conditioning mechanism of claim 7 whereineach said guide rail is connected to the corresponding core by fastenersspaced along the transverse length of each said guide rail and recessedinto said guide rail to present a uniform surface over which thecorresponding said lobe can slide.
 9. The conditioning mechanism ofclaim 5 wherein each said lobe has a central portion having a firstdimension extending radially away from said core and opposing edgeportions having a second dimension extending radially away from saidcore and being smaller than said first dimension, said transverse slotcorresponding to opposing halves of said guide rail and being positionedwithin said edge portions of said lobes such that adjacent lobes form atransverse slot substantially corresponding to said guide rail.
 10. Theconditioning mechanism of claim 9 wherein each said guide rail isconnected to the corresponding core by fasteners spaced along thetransverse length of each said guide rail and recessed into said guiderail to present a uniform surface over which the corresponding saidlobes can slide.
 11. A conditioner roll comprising:a hollow core havinga length extending along a first direction, said core having acircumference defining an outer surface; a plurality of elongated guiderails mounted on the outer surface of said core and spaced equidistantlyaround the circumference of said core; a lobe slidably mounted on eachsaid guide rail to permit transverse reciprocal movement along thelength thereof relative to said guide rail, each said lobe having across-sectional configuration that will provide a convoluted cropengaging surface for said conditioning roll when all of said lobes aremounted on said guide rails, each said lobe being slidably movableindependently of the adjacent said lobes.
 12. The conditioning roll ofclaim 11 wherein each said guide rail is detachably connected to saidcore by fasteners recessed into said guide rail to present a uniformsurface over which the corresponding said lobe will slide.
 13. Theconditioning roll of claim 12 wherein said guide rail has a T-shapedcross-sectional configuration.
 14. The conditioning roll of claim 13wherein each said lobe has a central position with a first thicknessextending radially outwardly from said core and opposing edge portionson either side of said central portion and having a second thicknesssmaller than said first thickness.
 15. The conditioning roll of claim 14wherein each said lobe has a T-shaped slot through the central portionthereof to permit said lobe to register with said guide rail.
 16. Theconditioning roll of claim 14 wherein each said lobe has an-opposinghalf of a T-shaped slot through each respective edge portion such thatadjacent lobes form a transverse slot therethrough substantiallycorresponding to the cross-sectional configuration of said guide rail.17. The conditioning roll of claim 13 wherein a bushing material ispositioned between said guide rail and the corresponding said lobe tofacilitate sliding movement therebetween.
 18. The conditioning roll ofclaim 13 wherein said guide rail has a length substantially equal to thelength of said core.
 19. The conditioning roll of claim 18 wherein eachsaid lobe has a length greater than the length of the corresponding saidguide rail to permit a predetermined amount of sliding of said loberelative to said guide rail without exposing said guide rail.